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Starting fresh

Redemption doesn't come easily.

Especially not after a 41-7 loss on national television.

But that's the task which faces the No. 15-ranked Arizona Wildcats (0-1) when they visit Texas Christian in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.

UA senior wide receiver Dennis Northcutt said the TCU defense won't be easy for the Wildcats to overcome, nor will the fact that the game is the Horned Frogs' season opener.

"They're aggressive (after) what they did last year," he said, referring to TCU's 7-5 season and Sun Bowl championship. "They were real hungry, they looked real good out there. They're a good team. But this is a new year and we just gotta do our thing."

UA head coach Dick Tomey said the game won't be any easier than the matchup with No. 2 Penn State.

"We think this game will be one of the toughest of the year because of what they do and their mind set," he said of TCU. "That kind of offense really presents you with problems. They have a difficult attack to stop."

TCU's offense is the option, though he said it's not like Nebraska's option which Arizona shut down in last year's 23-20 Holiday Bowl victory.

UA senior linebacker DaShon Polk said the Horned Frogs are somewhat like Nebraska, but he said the Wildcats have had prior experience since TCU head coach Dennis Franchione coached the New Mexico team Arizona beat in the 1997 Insight.com Bowl.

The Wildcats enter the game after a rough week of practice. Senior fullback Jim Wendler broke a rib in practice, but said he will be ready Sunday.

"I think after the UCLA game (last year) we set a work ethic for ourselves as far as preparation goes," UA junior center Bruce Wiggins said. "We didn't ever want to feel that again, but now we have. Before this Penn State game we made each other soft. We need to learn how to hit again."

As much as the Wildcats need to hit, they also know their skill players have to make a bigger impact.

"We didn't have a running game against Penn State," said senior running back Trung Canidate, who only had 31 yards rushing against the Lions. "We came out and tried to deceive them, it didn't work. Shoot, when you're down by 28, 30 points you have to put the ball in the air, you don't have a choice."

And while Canidate and the other backs couldn't get things going on the ground, moving through the air proved equally tough, especially with quarterbacks Keith Smith (17 for 21, 128 yards) and Ortege Jenkins (8 for 14, 104 yards, sacked four times) under constant pressure.

One of Arizona's few bright spots was Northcutt, who had 86 yards receiving despite being double-teamed for most of the game.

"I expect that from every team from here on out now if guys don't step up," Northcutt said. "I've just got to work extra hard."

With senior wide receiver Brad Brennan out with a hamstring injury, it will be up to junior Marvin Brown, sophomore Malosi Leonard and freshman Bobby Wade to make an impact this week.

"Two people can't do the job at receiver," Northcutt said. "We need it now, we can't wait for them to catch up. Somebody's going to have to step up, if they don't step up it's a lost season."

Being one-dimensional against the Horned Frogs is a recipe for disaster.

The TCU defense held Southern Cal to 23 yards rushing in a 28-19 victory over the Trojans in last year's Sun Bowl.

Canidate said it's not going to be easy to break past that kind of a defense.

"Those guys are flying around, they're going to be excited, at home and all," he said. "Those guys can flat out play, they run to the ball and they're physical.

"We're going to have to do a good job up front, from the offensive line making holes to the running backs getting through."

Northcutt said that while the Horned Frogs look tough on tape, the Wildcats have to remember that this is a different TCU team that will be taking the field. Still, Arizona could wind up relying on the passing game more than the running game to move the ball against the Horned Frogs.

"I don't know, this is a new year," he said. "We've got to look at that (passing more), especially after a game like Penn State. We've got to pass it in the air, but they're going to try to stop both. They're going to try and shut our whole offense down, and why not? Penn State did."

Canidate said it didn't matter if the Wildcats "throw the ball 100 times" or "run the ball 100 times."

"The bottom line is we have to play football and not worry about statistics," he said.

The Horned Frogs are wary of players like Canidate and Northcutt, both of whom head coach Dennis Franchione noted, as did one of his players.

"I don't know if you can pin Arizona down when you look at their offense down to one thing," Franchione said. "Obviously the tailback is a great runner (and) Northcutt is a great athlete who presents a lot of problems for us."

TCU junior running back LaDainian Tomlinson has a lot of respect for Canidate.

"He's unbelievable," Tomlinson said. "His offensive linemen makes so many big holes, he makes one person (miss) and he's off. Playing the same position I love to watch Trung run."

For Arizona, stopping Tomlinson (717 yards, 8 touchdowns in 1998) and senior quarterback Patrick Batteaux (479 yards rushing, 3 TD) is the order of the day.

"They've got a fast quarterback and fast tailback, you've got to be quick and have your eyes right to stop them," Polk said.

The Wildcats still have some aggression left to take out on the Horned Frogs.

"That's why I like that we've got a couple days to relax," Polk said yesterday. "The physical part of the week is over right now. It's just now time for us to get mentally prepared, to focus on our job and our responsibilities right now."